Bhutanese-Americans in Local Politics

Less than two decades after the first Bhutanese refugees arrived in the United States, members of the community have won election to public office at the local and state level — an arc from stateless refugee to elected official accomplished within a single generation. Beginning with a city council victory in Ohio in 2019 and progressing to a state legislative seat in New Hampshire in 2024, Bhutanese-Americans have demonstrated both the depth of their civic integration and the political potential of a diaspora that now numbers over 100,000 people.

Bhuwan Pyakurel: First Bhutanese-American Elected Official

Bhuwan Pyakurel made history in November 2019 when he was elected to represent Ward 3 on the Reynoldsburg City Council in Ohio — becoming the first Bhutanese-American elected to public office in the United States. Born in Bhutan of Lhotshampa heritage, he left the country as a child following the ethnic persecution of the Lhotshampa community, spending years in refugee camps in Nepal before resettling in the United States in 2009. He and his family moved to Ohio in 2014, and he became a US citizen in 2015.

Pyakurel holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Bengal University in India. He has worked as a manager of interpretive services for Primary One Health, which operates clinics in central Ohio, providing language access services to immigrant and refugee communities. He served as President of the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio (BCCO) before his election. His Ward 3 victory was recognised nationally as a symbol of refugee civic integration, and he was sworn in alongside other history-making council members in December 2019.

Suraj Budathoki: First Bhutanese-American State Legislator

Suraj K. Budathoki achieved a further milestone when he was elected in November 2024 as a Democratic member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives for the Hillsborough 40th district, assuming office on 4 December 2024. He became the first Bhutanese-American to serve in a US state legislature.

Budathoki was born in Samrang, Bhutan, and is of Lhotshampa heritage. He spent 19 years in a refugee camp in Nepal before resettling in the United States in 2009. Together with his wife Ganga, he co-founded Building Community in New Hampshire (formerly known as the Bhutanese Community of New Hampshire), an organisation focused on refugee resettlement, economic development, and civic integration programmes. His legislative win carries significance not only for Bhutanese-Americans but for the broader refugee and immigrant community in New Hampshire, where he has been an advocate for community concerns including housing, education, and immigration policy.

Broader Civic Engagement

Beyond formal elected positions, Bhutanese-Americans participate widely in civic life: conducting voter registration drives, attending town halls, engaging with local planning and school board meetings, and organising community advocacy around issues including housing affordability, mental health services, and immigration rights. Community organisations in major resettlement cities — including Columbus, Ohio; Burlington, Vermont; Fort Worth, Texas; and Manchester, New Hampshire — serve as civic infrastructure from which political participation grows.

The community's political emergence has taken place against a challenging backdrop. Concerns about immigration enforcement, changing refugee resettlement policies, and the mental health impacts of repeated displacement have been prominent issues, and elected Bhutanese-Americans have frequently engaged these questions in their public roles.

Significance

The trajectory from stateless refugee in Nepali camps to elected legislator in an American state, accomplished within approximately fifteen years of resettlement, is one of the more striking stories of civic integration in contemporary American political history. It reflects the determination of Bhutanese-American community members to claim full civic membership, and the willingness of American voters in diverse cities and towns to elect candidates from refugee backgrounds.

References

1. "Suraj Budathoki Becomes First Bhutanese-American State Representative." New Americans Magazine, November 2024.
2. "Suraj Budathoki." Ballotpedia.
3. "Reynoldsburg Makes History with America's First Nepali-Bhutanese Elected Official." WOSU Public Media.
4. "History-Making Council Members Sworn in in Reynoldsburg." DemCast USA.